


At Midnight

by harriskay



Series: Clueless Angel [3]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Holidays, Hugs, Kissing, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, New Years, New Years party, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harriskay/pseuds/harriskay
Summary: Michael is invited to LUX's New Years Party. Ella convinces him to go with her.
Relationships: Ella Lopez/Michael
Series: Clueless Angel [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077092
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	At Midnight

Michael instantly regretted opening the email. In his defense he was working and it was _technically_ a work related email. He thought perhaps it was a mistake, a mass email sent out without regard to whom, which would make sense given the nature of the contents. Of course, it wasn’t. It was sent directly to him and aimed directly at him. The note at the bottom made that very clear ‘ _Do NOT ignore this, Mikey. Miss Lopez loves New Years’._

Sam was throwing a huge New Years party at Lux. These human traditions were often baffling, especially celebrating the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. So many of them didn’t even believe in science and yet they celebrated something that was inherently scientific in nature.

Almost instantly he received a text from Ella

**_Ella:_ ** _So we're definitely going, right?_

 **_Michael:_ ** _I don’t see why… what does one even do at this sort of thing?_

 **_Ella:_ ** _Drink, dance, watch the ball drop, and kiss at Midnight. It’s a party, Mike, there doesn’t have to be any real point to it._

 **_Michael:_ ** _I suppose._

 **_Ella:_ ** _Good. I’ll let Chloe know 😘_

Of course she didn’t have to try to talk him into things anymore. He nearly instantly caved at most of her requests. If she wanted to go to a party then they’d go to the party. What were a few hours anyway? There was silver lining however, a kiss at midnight. He didn’t really need an excuse to kiss her, not after dating for a few months. They loved each other and had finally admitted it on Christmas, but a socially acceptable reason to kiss her in front of everyone had its appeal, even if his brother still cringed at the sight. Any opportunity to subtly torcher his brother was also a plus.

He couldn’t believe how his feelings for her had developed and changed so quickly in the past few months. It started as platonic friends getting coffee to now dating and planning holidays together. They had gone through Thanksgiving, which went well, except the whole phone in the trash ordeal. Next had been the events leading up to Christmas. Chopping their own tree, decorating, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Brunch. Nothing had gone exceptionally wrong; on the contrary it had all gone quite well. When he had come to earth to upturn his twins life he never expected it would turn out this way, not that he was complaining. Ella was the ray of sunshine in his otherwise dim life.

He re-read what Ella had texted him. Drinking, he could definitely do. He’d have to make sure she didn’t over do it. Watching the ball drop, whatever that meant was easy enough, just watch it. Kissing at midnight, too easy. The one that stuck out as a potential issue was the dancing. He knew how, but his body wouldn’t allow him to participate in the type of dancing Ella was accustomed to. He’d have to figure something out. He wasn’t too excited at the thought of someone else dancing with his girlfriend.

* * *

The day of the party had been one disaster after the other, which seemed fitting. All the other holiday planning had gone well, so why would this one be the same? He had woken up to shooting pains in his back and side. That should have been the first sign that this day was going to have its issues. A hot shower didn’t help at all. HE stood under the steaming spray of the showerhead, hands against the tile walls trying to aim the hot water to his shoulder without detaching it from the wall. It felt good but didn’t last long once he exited and dressed himself. He would have used the massager Ella got him for Christmas but he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach where the clumps of muscles twisted and spasmed. Perhaps after the party tonight? If he cold last that long. Today was going to be trying at best.

His day went just as well as he expected. He made smoothie for lunch, which had essentially exploded all over him, forcing him find something else to wear to the party. None of his clothes had come back from the cleaners so he had been forced to ask Sam for a shirt at the last minute. Why would there be a washer or dryer anywhere in the giant building they lived in? Everything had to be sent out.

By 7pm, he hadn’t gotten nearly as much work done, as he had wanted. So many interruptions, distractions, and painful spasms that made him lightheaded to the point where he had to breath slowly with his eyes shut to just gather himself. He’d have to work the weekend to catch up. 

As he was preparing to make his way down to the party to meet Ella, he received a text message.

**_Ella:_ ** _I’m sorry, Mike I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I’m stuck processing this scene and I still have to go back to the lab and prep these samples and finish my preliminary reports._

 **_Michael:_ ** _If this day could get any worse I’d think I was in a hell loop…_

 **_Ella:_ ** _Well, I’m sorry I’m part of your own personal hell._

 **_Michael:_ ** _You know that’s not what I meant…_

 **_Michael:_ ** _Ella?_

 **_Michael:_ ** _??_

He wondered if everything was okay, she wasn’t usually so quick to agitate. She had definitely never been so short with him. The only thing he could think of was that she must be upset she couldn’t attend the party. She had been looking forward to it all week. She had a special dressed picked out that she refused to let him see until that night and she had planned on staying over. Now instead she was stuck at a crime scene and she was mad at him. He may as well be in a hell loop.

He contemplated what he should do next. If he went to the party without her, which he didn’t want to do, he’d feel like he was betraying her. If he didn’t go his brother would be irritated at best, which he didn’t really care about. He also didn’t want to trigger an unexpected visit that would include dragging him down to a party he didn’t even want to attend.

He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t going as he kicked his shoes off and made his way to his fully stocked bar. As he poured himself double what he usually would he glanced down at his phone. Ella still hadn’t responded.

As he made his way to the couch he began looking up what the big deal was about New Years and why this whole ball drop thing occurred in New York at this Times Square place. He might as well occupy himself with something somewhat useful since he felt this was going to be a long night.

Before he knew it, it was 10pm and he still hadn’t figured out what to do. Ella hadn’t texted him back and it didn’t seem as though anyone cared that he hadn’t made his way down to the party.

He sat there swirling his glass of gin, just watching as the liquid cascaded down the sides just as fast as he whirled it. Like with most of these forced social interactions he was at a loss. He needed to figure something out fast though or the night would be over before he knew it.

He quickly threw back the rest of the gin and stood looking for his shoes he had flung off and forgotten about a few hours before. Once he finally located his shoes he slipped them back on and headed toward the elevator. There had to be something he could do, even if he made it up as he went along.

The elevator opened to a party in full swing. People as far as the eye could see. They were dancing, drinking, grinding on one another as their inhibitions slipped, obviously since they were all wearing weird shiny hats and glasses that spelled out the year. The music was also insanely loud. How anyone could enjoy this he didn’t know. The main reason he decided to work from his apartment and make as few trips down to the club as possible.

As he looked through the crowd he spotted one of the cocktail waitresses. He beckoned her over and she complied immediately. He often forgot he actually worked there and being the brother of the owner did command a certain amount of respect, even more so since they looked almost exactly the same that was the other issue. In the dark of the club most didn't realize he wasn't his brother at first, depending on his attire. 

“Yes, Mr. Morn-Demiurgos?” the brunette strolled up to him holding a tray full of champagne realizing only once she approached him that he wasn't his brother.

“Did your _boss_ by chance have this party catered?” he couldn’t recall her name nor if he had even met her before.

“Yes, did you need something? It’s setup in the corner back there.” She pointed to the back corner of the room

“Actually, could you get me two containers?” he wasn’t sure if this was going to work, but at least he could do was try.

She went off to retrieve the requested items as people were carelessly grabbing at the tray in her hands. She was back within minutes with the containers and a refreshed tray of drinks.

He took the trays and made his way to the layout of food. It was mostly light Hors d'oeuvres. He chose the least threatening looking ones. There were bacon wrapped _things_ , shrimp, pinwheels with some meat inside and meatballs. He threw what he could in the containers and attempted to make his way back through the mass of people. Making his way through the crowd was more difficult than he thought, the club was so very packed. This had to be some sort of fire code violation, he thought as he let his fear "mojo" leak out a bit clearing a path for himself as the partygoers recoiled as he made his way to the exit. 

He had decided, if she couldn’t come to the party he’d do what he could to bring at least a piece of it to her. 

* * *

The trip to the precinct was relatively short especially since he had decided to fly. There were tons of people out and about. Attempting to get an Uber would have taken too much time. I was closing in on midnight faster than he would have liked so flying was the most economic option, even if it was going to agitate his injuries even further.

When he arrived he made his way to her lab as quickly as possible. As he hobbled down the stairs he could see into her lab. Her eyes seemed to be permanently glued to her microscope as she jotted down notes. She didn’t even look up as he stood in the doorway clearing his throat to get her attention.

“Yeah, just leave whatever you have on the table and I’ll get to it later.” She mindlessly replied as she motioned toward the table.

“Umm…Ella. It’s me” Michael finally spoke up. He hoped she didn’t realize it was him when she said to put what he had on the table, but if that’s what she wanted he’d comply.

She jerked her head up at the voice instantly. He could see the exhaustion plaguing her face. He could tell she was still upset that she had caught a case at the last minute and had to miss the party.

“Oh. Michael. I wasn’t really expecting you. I thought that Lucifer would have forced you to go to the party by now.” She gave him a harsher look than he’d expected as she stood there, arms crossed, until she noticed the boxes in his hands, “What’s that?” she motioned toward him with her head

“I thought that since you were stuck here I’d bring a little bit of the party to you. Mainly food, I’m sure you’re hungry.” He sheepishly admitted. He wasn’t sure if she was mad at him or the situation as a whole.

“That’s actually really sweet of you. I’m starving.” She walked toward him he was unsure what to expect until she slowly wrapped him in a hug, melting against his chest. He could feel her exhaustion. Michael wrapped his free arm around her in turn and held her until she separated from him.

“Do you think you could take a quick break to eat with me?” he made his way to set the containers down pulling her along with him.

“I'm sure I can. I’m actually very close to being finished.” She sat and he followed suit. Opening the boxes to reveal the food he brought.

“I didn’t think you would have gone to the party...” she examined the food recognizing it as what Lucifer had been talking about earlier in the day.

“Yes, well there was food so I went down the steal some to bring you. There were too many people gyrating on one another for my taste.” Michael was relieved that he didn’t have to attend the party.

“Yeah, well that's half the fun.” She sighed, “Look I’m real sorry about earlier. I was super frustrated and from your text it sounds like you had a bad day too. I didn’t mean to take what you said so personally, or to ignore you. I definitely didn’t mean to lash out at you because I was frustrated.” She took his hand in hers and rubbed the back of it with her thumb as she shoved a meatball in her mouth. “These are delicious” her eyes widened as she continued to eat.

“I know” Michael shook his head as he continued to eat as well.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their food. She looked at her phone a few times and Michael managed to see the time, it was nearly midnight. He knew she had her heart set on spending the night at the party but she’d have to settle for ringing in the New Year with just him.

Michael recalled what she had explained about the ball dropping at midnight. He wasn’t sure when that started but he assumed it had to be soon. As he finished his last bite of food he pulled out his phone and looked for a way to watch it. He quickly found a live stream and opened it on his phone.

“Look, I can’t provide well...anything that the party at Lux has to offer but we can watch the ball drop and then I’ll let you get back to work.” He admitted propping it against the takeout box so they could watch and sitting back down next to her. She sighed and leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder.

There was about 5 minutes until the ball was set to drop. The formal countdown wouldn’t start until 60 seconds before midnight. Ella seemed content with just sitting there watching but he knew she wished they were dancing and partying at Lux.

“Did you want to dance? I mean I know there’s no music and I defiantly can’t dance the way you do but we do have a few minutes…” he stood grabbing her hand. She stood complying with his request.

“We could do the middle school slow dance sway?” she suggested as she brought her arms up resting them on his shoulders, fingers gently resting on the back of his neck.

“I’m not sure I know what that is” Michael scrunched his face as his hands instinctively went to her waist holding her in place a few inches away from him.

“Well it’s basically just like we are right now, but we just kind of sway back and forth, and there’d usually be music.” She took a step closer to him and began shifting her weight from side to side. He took all his cues from her and followed, shifting his weight slightly from side to side as he held her close to him, hands still resting gently around her tiny waist.

“I know you didn’t really want to go to the party,” Ella confessed

“Yes, well _you_ did” he was willing to sacrifice a few hours to make her happy. 

“Michael, just because I want to do something doesn’t mean that’s how it has to be.” She assured him.

“I just want you to be happy.” He felt like he was being sappy, but it was the truth.

“It’ll make me happy if we talk about things instead of you just giving in. I know I can be a bit assertive and sometimes forceful about things but I don’t ask if you want to do something to receive an “ _As you wish._ ” You’re not Wesley...more like the Dread Pirate Roberts ” Her eyes lit up as she looked up to him. She was pretty proud of the reference.

“Who?” Michael was confused

“You know, from Princess Bride? Or you don’t know. Don’t worry about it, it was one of those books that’s now a movie references.” She chuckled to herself. She often forgot he was so very clueless to so many things, especially popular culture references, “I would have been just as happy to stay at home with you and celebrate alone, if that’s what you wanted.”

“Yes, well that wouldn’t matter in this situation, since you had to work anyway.” Perhaps next year.

Before they knew it the countdown had started.

10…his breathe hitched in his throat.

9… the butterflies, as Linda and Ella called them, were fluttering in his stomach.

8… his mouth was dry in anticipation.

7… their eyes met.

6… Michael licked his dry lips.

5… both quickly glanced from eyes to lips.

4…he swallowed hard.

3…Ella gently pulled him down toward her.

2… Michael relented, leaning to meet her face to face.

1…he captured her lips with his.

The kiss was slow and gentle. They both felt like they had all the time in the world. They could hear the shouting and noise makers going off through he phone. He broke the kiss hovering centimeters from her lips.

“Happy New Year, Ella.” Came out as a whisper as he stared deep into her eyes.

“Happy New Year, Michael” Ella breathlessly replied.

Michael pulled her close, tucking his head into the nape of her neck as they continued to sway. Auld Lang Syne could be heard in the background.

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot_

_And never brought to mind?_

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot_

_And days of auld lang syne?_

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to go to the party, I know you were excited about it.” He whispered into her ear. His breathe sending a shiver up her spine.

_For auld lang syne, my dear_

_For auld lang syne_

_We'll take the cup o' kindness yet_

_For auld lang syne_

“There will be others, I'm just glad I got to share this with you.” She smiled as she continued to hold onto him.

_For auld lang syne, my dear_

_For auld lang syne_

_We'll take the cup o'_ kindness _yet_

_For auld lang syne_

“Did you still want to spend the night?” Michael broke their silence at the New Years coverage ended on his phone.

Ella grinned, “Yeah, if you don’t mind waiting for me.”

“Perhaps I’ll get to see the dress I’ve not been allowed to even get a description of?” he teased knowing she was mourning the fact she didn’t get to show off her dress.

“Maybe if you’re _really_ good…” she wiggled her eyebrows at him as she giggled.

“Oh, I promise I’ll be _very, very_ good…” he growled as he kissed her once more as she wiggled out of his arms to finish her work.

He silently watched her work as he thought about everything that had occurred between them and everything that was to come. If tonight were any indicator the year to come would be, as Ella says, "a-maze-balls". 

**Author's Note:**

> So It looks like this series is turning into Ella helping Michael celebrate the various Holidays us mortals celebrate. So stay tuned for that 🙃
> 
> “Auld Lang Syne”- Mitch Miller.


End file.
